Update: 92-Year-Old Dies After Dramatic Rescue

Update Dec. 12, 4:25 p.m.: Salvatore Mancuso passed away Friday morning, WPTV reported.

Earlier:

A Florida pre-med student and two others are being heralded as heroes for diving in to save a 92-year-old man who lost control of his car and landed in a Port St. Lucie lake Wednesday.

The incident unfolded as Alton Brieske, 21, was having lunch, ABC reported. Brieske, a student at Florida Atlantic University, saw the car crash into the water and wasted no time in trying to help its driver.

“I ran over here, immediately took my shirt off and threw everything right there,” he was quoted by ABC as saying.

A video that has since been published on YouTube captures the dramatic rescue, showing Brieske as he broke out a window with a hammer and pulled the unconscious man from the car. Nikolas Guevara and Mike Markisello also helped with the rescue, the Palm Beach Post reported.

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Once safely on shore, Brieske performed CPR on the driver, the paper reported.

That driver, Salvatore Mancuso, is thought to have suffered a medical emergency before he lost control of the car and landed in the lake, WPTV reported.

Emergency crews arrived as Brieske was performing CPR. Mancuso was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

A similar incident also took place in the Tampa Bay area Thursday when a city of Madeira Beach employee lost control of his work truck and drove into the Gulf of Mexico. Two good Samaritans are credited in that rescue, which is also believed to have been prompted by a medical emergency.

YouTube Screenshot